Arkansas launches hotline for ideas to improve governmentLITTLE ROCK— Arkansas is launching a hotline and a website where the public can submit ideas to improve state government and make it more efficient. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday announced the launch of the MyIdea project, which will include a hotline and site that will be staffed by the Department of Finance and Administration. DFA will determine which agency is best equipped to handle an idea submitted and forward it to that agenc...

Arkansas Treasurer denied funds to pay overdue legal feesLITTLE ROCK — A panel of Arkansas lawmakers has rejected spending more state money on outstanding legal fees linked to lawsuits from a former state treasurer's office employee. The lawsuit was filed against Treasurer Dennis Milligan, alleging former employee David Singer was fired after an office memo defamed him. Milligan's office requested $205,000 to pay off the $170,000 in outstanding legal fees from the case, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette...

Arkansas Supreme Court seeking 11 percent pay raiseLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas' highest court on Tuesday asked a state panel for an 11 percent pay raise for its justices, with the court's chief saying the boost would put them more in line with what other states pay and citing the flurry of appeals that justices handled last month over efforts to resume the executions of death row inmates. Chief Justice Dan Kemp asked the Independent Citizens Commission, which sets salaries for the state'...

Ark. judge backs order finding city set highway speed trapsDAMASCUS— A circuit judge has kept in place an order that officers in Damascus stop patrolling highways after the city was found to have violated a state law against setting speed traps for motorists. Judge Chris Carnahan's ruling in support of an earlier order means Arkansas State Police and sheriff's deputies in Faulkner and Van Buren counties will be responsible for traffic enforcement along U.S. 65 and other highways. A prosecuting attorne...

Northwest Arkansas pastor says he's running for CongressLITTLE ROCK — A Fayetteville pastor said Wednesday he's challenging a northwest Arkansas congressman in the Republican primary next year, and he has the support of a group formed by former staffers and volunteers from Bernie Sanders' Democratic presidential campaign. Robb Ryerse announced he's seeking the Republican nomination for the 3rd District seat held by Rep. Steve Womack, who is running for a fifth term next year. Ryerse, 42, is co-past...

Gas pipeline to be installed site of 2015 rift in ArkansasLITTLE ROCK— A new pipeline to carry natural gas is set to be installed under the Arkansas River between Little Rock and North Little Rock, close to the site where a similar pipeline ruptured about two years ago. The 3,100-foot pipeline will be installed off property belonging to Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field by using a technique the pipeline owner said will make it a safer river crossing, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ...

Arkansas governor formally launches re-election bidLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Tuesday he's running for re-election, as the Republican vowed to expand on tax cuts he's championed since taking office and on efforts to create more jobs in the state. Hutchinson, who was first elected in 2014, had been widely expected to seek re-election and had already been raising money for next year's campaign. Hutchinson last month reported having nearly $700,000 cash on hand for his r...

Arkansas governor asks for rental aid for flooded residentsLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is requesting rental assistance for residents forced from their homes due to recent floods, particularly in the northeastern portion of the state. Hutchinson says in a Tuesday news release that he's asking the Arkansas Development Finance Authority to secure up to $5 million through a program with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program provides tenant-based rental assistance...

Small central Arkansas city to cease patrol of highwaysDAMASCUS— A prosecutor who determined the tiny Arkansas city of Damascus violated the state's speed trap laws has now ordered the community's to cease patrol of all highways. Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland issued the sanction on Wednesday. In February, Hiland determined Damascus was in violation of the Arkansas speed trap statute because the city's revenues from fines exceeded 30 percent of the city's expenditures for two years, the Log Cabi...

Arkansas panel OKs Ten Commandments display at state CapitolLITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas panel cleared the way Thursday for a privately-funded Ten Commandments monument to be installed near the state Capitol — perhaps as soon as next month — prompting opponents who call it unconstitutional to vow to sue over the display. The Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission approved by a voice vote the location and design of the display, which weighs more than 6,000 pounds and stands at more than 6 feet tall. A 2015 st...

Alcohol applications filed for the University of ArkansasFAYETTEVILLE — The concessions company at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville has filed applications to sell alcohol at sports facilities, but the school's athletic director says the university has no plans to expand alcohol sales on campus. Levy Premium Foodservice LP sent in the permits for baseball, basketball and for the gymnastics and volleyball facilities, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2q5Q6Qa) reported. The company...

Arkansas lawmakers react to Trump firing FBI directorLITTLE ROCK— Members of Arkansas' all-Republican congressional delegation are stopping short of criticizing President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey, and none of the state's senators or representatives are so far calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump campaign's possible connections to Russia. Remarks made Wednesday about Comey's firing: ___ Sen. John Boozman: "The work undertaken on a daily basis b...

Arkansas VA home earns certificationNORTH LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas State Veterans Home in North Little Rock can now accept residents on Medicare and Medicaid. The home, which opened at the end of January, was only accepting residents who could afford to pay for care out of pocket, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2q2ncQE ) reported. The certification now allows the home to bill Medicare and Medicaid for care dating to April 27. The certification came after a survey...

Man accused in road-rage killing of child to be committedLITTLE ROCK— A man accused of fatally shooting a 3-year-old boy in a road-rage attack in Little Rock is being committed for observation by doctors who are assessing his mental health. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2qnLRlL ) reports the doctors assigned to determine if 33-year-old Gary Eugene Holmes is fit to stand trial have requested that he be interned indefinitely at the Arkansas State Hospital. The doctors told Pulaski Count...

AHCA undercuts Hutchinson's Medicaid expansion planLITTLE ROCK — On Thursday, the same day that Governor Asa Hutchinson signed legislation approving “Arkansas Works 2.0,” his plan to enact changes to the state’s Medicaid expansion program, the U.S. House passed a bill that would undermine many of the program’s key tenets. The governor nevertheless plans to move forward with his plan, which still demands federal approval. “We will proceed with the AW 2.0 waiver and consider any additional chang...

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BY DAVID RAMSEY Ark. Nonprofit News NetworkThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

2 Arkansas colleges at risk of losing state fundingLITTLE ROCK — Two Arkansas colleges will be submitting improvement plans to the state's Department of Higher Education amid declining enrollment. Northwest Arkansas Community College and the University of Arkansas Community College fell below the minimum score in performance-based funding, a drop that can lead to losing a portion of funding from the state. Colleges and universities get their funding mostly from student tuition and fees, state ...

Arkansas Capitol to close briefly for sewer line repairsLITTLE ROCK— Sewer line repairs at the Arkansas state Capitol will require the building to be closed for at least a weekend, and perhaps for several weeks. Officials in Secretary of State Mark Martin's office told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2pVGmrm ) that the sewer lines may be original to the more than 100-year-old building and will be re-lined. Martin spokesman Chris Powell said the problem was discovered during an investig...

Arkansas lawmakers named to panel studying tax cutsLITTLE ROCK — Ten Republicans and six Democrats have been named to serve on a legislative task force that will recommend tax cuts before the 2019 session. House Speaker Jeremy Gillam and Senate President Jonathan Dismang on Monday named their appointees to the Tax Reform and Relief Legislative Task Force, created as part of a $50 million income tax cut plan approved by lawmakers this year. The Senate's Republican members are Sens. Bart Hester,...

Arkansas scholarship fund head says he'll run for CongressLITTLE ROCK — The head of a scholarship fund launched a longshot bid Monday to unseat a Republican congressman in northwest Arkansas, targeting the incumbent over his vote to repeal and replace major parts of President Barack Obama's health care law. Joshua Mahony, 36, said he's running as a Democrat for the 3rd District seat held by Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, who is seeking his fifth term in office. Mahony, the president of the Spring...

Man eligible for parole 30 years after murder convictionFAYETTEVILLE— A man sentenced as a teenager to life in prison for killing a 4-year-old child is now eligible for parole. Christopher Segerstrom, now 45, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the 1986 death of Barbara Thompson. Investigators said the girl was sexually assaulted, hit on the head with a rock and suffocated in a wooded area near the University of Arkansas, the Northwest Arkansas...